This invention relates to a hand truck, and more particularly, to a hand truck equipped with an interchangeable runner and wheel assemblage.
Conventional hand trucks, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,639,035 to Hall; 1,716,611 to Wilson; 1,927,710 to Lindsay; 2,467,644 to Wright, et al; and 4,046,391 to Restad et al, are provided with wheels to permit the truck to be pushed or pulled. While these conventional hand trucks perform satisfactorily on surfaces, such as cement or asphalt, maneuvering wheeled hand trucks across surfaces, such as snow or ice, often proves a difficult task. When wheeling a hand truck through snow, especially fresh powder, the hand truck often becomes stuck thereby increasing the risk of injury to the load and/or operator in attempting to rectify the problem.
Several prior art carriers have been equipped with runners to facilitate movement of the device over snow and ice. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,438,359 to Caron and 3,730,542 to Chadwick disclose retractable sleds for wheeled vehicles, such as a trailer. U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,588 to Jones discloses a game carrier which is normally supported on a wheel secured to an axle. The carrier is further provided with a runner which can be rotated about the axle to a position above the wheel when not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,638 to Flagg relates to a refuse collecting and conveying vehicle which may be moved by means of a wheel secured to a shaft at the forward end of the vehicle. A retractable snow skid is also secured to the shaft and is normally held in retracted position by a screw and wing nut combination. Both Jones and Flagg mount the one runner and one snow skid, respectively, inboard of the carrier or vehicle frame thereby increasing the lateral instability of the carrier or vehicle when loaded. None of these prior art approaches are directly applied to a conventional hand truck nor would the deficiencies of these approaches be resolved if applied to a hand truck.
Thus, a need exists for a hand truck which is equipped with an interchangeable runners and wheels assemblage which is durable, easily and effectively interchanged, and ensures stability of the hand truck during movement.